Plans envision better Amtrak service, trains in Phoenix

Efforts are under way to introduce daily long-distance Amtrak service to southern Arizona and ultimately bring passenger trains back into downtown Phoenix.

Both prospects face daunting challenges, however. They involve tough track-access negotiations with the nation's largest railroad freight hauler and a commitment of precious state or local funds.

If negotiations with Union Pacific Railroad pan out, Amtrak could extend its existing service to southern Arizona by offering trips each day by the end of the year. Buses would carry Phoenix-area passengers to the nearest station, in Maricopa.

A resurgent national interest in passenger rail service and shifts in federal policies are driving both efforts.

The government forced Amtrak, a federally funded corporation, to rethink its worst-performing routes. And worst of all is the Sunset Limited, which runs three times weekly from Los Angeles through Texas to New Orleans and stops in Arizona in the dead of night. Trains bypass Phoenix, stopping in Yuma, Maricopa, Tucson and Benson. Amtrak spends $4 for every dollar it makes from fares on the Sunset Limited.

But Amtrak also considers Arizona a huge untapped market and predicts improved service here will attract tens of thousands of new passengers a year.

That plan coincides with state efforts to connect Arizona's two largest cities with passenger rail for the first time since 1996.

If the Arizona Department of Transportation's plans ever reach fruition, Amtrak and more-frequent in-state trains could share a line southeast from Phoenix to Tucson. Heading west, Amtrak trains would leave downtown Phoenix on a restored line. The route also could accommodate a third service for commuters from the East and West Valley.

Negotiations often result in Amtrak paying for track improvements and freight-service disruptions. Amtrak said negotiations are challenging, and Union Pacific said it is "defining how we would add trains to the route."

ADOT has no money to build, restore or improve tracks. The state will be seeking planning grants from the Federal Railroad Administration but has until Tuesday to cobble together the $10 million in matching funds needed to qualify.

Daily service

Before Amtrak's summer schedule took effect a week ago, the Sunset Limited pulled into Tucson around 2 a.m. Yet Tucson is still the busiest station on the route.

Amtrak saw an opportunity.

"If we run it daily, Tucson could go sky-high," said Amtrak Production Development Chief Brian Ronsenwald.

His team developed a business model to capture more riders at the Tucson station and also pursue riders from the Valley. Daily eastbound Amtrak trains would arrive at Maricopa around 8 a.m. and westbound ones around 8 p.m.

Amtrak also wants to reintroduce after a decade a bus from Phoenix and Tempe timed to meet the trains.

Amtrak also proposes changes elsewhere, such as rerouting service once the train reaches San Antonio. Now, trains proceed on to New Orleans, but Amtrak wants to send those trains to Dallas, St. Louis and Chicago and create a separate service for New Orleans.

Combined, the changes would attract an additional 124,000 passengers a year, Amtrak predicts. About 78,000 passengers now ride the Sunset Limited.

The proposed changes stem from the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act. The act nearly doubled the federal government's Amtrak subsidy to $2.6 billion a year. In return, Amtrak was required to come up with business plans to make remedial lines more efficient.

Since Amtrak's 1971 inception, critics have derided it as a waste of money. Amtrak cannot function without subsidies, relatively few people ride it and it has been plagued by terrible schedule delays.

Supporters argue that the government underfunded the system for decades and the operation played second fiddle to freight.

The Obama administration has laid out a national passenger rail strategy, bringing renewed interest in Amtrak. President Barack Obama gave the Federal Railroad Administration new authority to hand out grants for passenger rail studies and improvements.

Returning to Phoenix

In 1996, the sun set on Phoenix's rail service, even while daily service continued through Flagstaff on Amtrak's Southwest Chief line, from Los Angeles to Chicago. Phoenix became the largest metro area in the U.S. without passenger rail.

For a quarter century, the Sunset Limited had traveled through Phoenix on a line from Yuma, called the Wellton branch. Then in October 1995, saboteurs derailed an Amtrak train northwest of Gila Bend.

By then the track had begun to show signs of wear and tear, and it was downgraded. Amtrak rerouted service along the transcontinental freight line through Maricopa.

With federal rail money now available, ADOT has refocused on Wellton as a long-term way to bring Amtrak back into Phoenix. Cost estimates range from $50 million to $200 million.

In coming weeks, ADOT plans to release its first state rail plan, a first step toward getting federal money for track upgrades.

With $6 million from earlier federal grants and congressional earmarks, ADOT next month will start a conceptual study evaluating options for connecting Phoenix and Tucson by rail. Eight options for a new track are being explored. Costs are unknown.

Options include extending existing freight track from Tempe to Maricopa or Chandler to Interstate 10. Others would put new lines in the East Valley, one along Arizona 79 and others reconnecting with Union Pacific north of Picacho.

"We have to have dedicated track. . . . That's the only way to get good service," said state Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson.

Moving from concepts to engineering will take federal grants.

"You can't spend state (gas-tax money) on rail because of constitutional protections," ADOT's rail chief Shannon Scutari said. State, regional or local matching money is needed to compete for the federal grants, she said.

May 14, 2010: An Amtrak train crosses the rail road tracks as it arrives at Amtrak Maricopa Station.

More on this topic

Riding Amtrak

Amtrak runs trains on two east-west Arizona routes. The Southwest Chief in northern Arizona stops in Flagstaff. The one nearest Phoenix, the Sunset Limited, has four stops: Yuma, Maricopa, Tucson and Benson. Here are some facts about the Sunset Limited:

Maricopa location: On Highway 347 at the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway.

Schedule: The eastbound train arrives at 10:08 p.m. on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. It takes nearly 24 hours to reach San Antonio. Westbound trains arrive at 11:47 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and take nearly nine hours to reach Los Angeles.

Who rides: Amtrak officials say 40 percent of riders are retirees. Two-thirds travel for vacation, scenery or the experience.

Fares: A one-way trip to Los Angeles costs $38. A trip to San Antonio costs $178.